Powered Up: Re-Purposing Energy with an Energy Harvester

In this one-week academic summer camp, middle school participants will turn wasted environmental energy, such as sunlight, vibration, or heat into useful electrical energy through a process called energy harvesting. As the power requirement of modern electronics gets smaller, energy harvesting has emerged as a key technology to enable sustainable electronics operation with little-to-no battery replacement. This hands-on educational camp will provide participants with skills to analyze and design a vibration harvesting system; prototype a simple vibration harvester using 3D Computer-Aided Design and printers; and perform tests to light up a LED. Participants will take home their 3-D Project. Activities will include a field trip to Potomac Photonics, a 3D printing company.